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Delft
Delft ( , ) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland (Zuid-Holland), in the Netherlands. Delft is located between the larger cities of Rotterdam and The Hague. Delft is primarily known for its historic town centre with canals; also for the painter Vermeer, Delft Blue pottery (Delftware), the Delft University of Technology, and its association with the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau. History From a rural village in the early Middle Ages Delft developed to a city, that in the 13th century (1246) received its charter.(For some more information about the early development, see the article "Gracht", section "Delft as an example"). The town's association with the House of Orange started when William of Orange (Willem van Oranje), nicknamed William the Silent (Willem de Zwijger), took up residence in 1572 At the time he was the leader of growing national Dutch resistance against Spanish occupation of the country, which struggle is known as the Eighty Years' War. By then Delft was one of the leading cities of Holland and it was equipped with the necessary city walls to serve as a headquarters. After the Act of Abjuration was proclaimed in 1581 Delft became the de facto capital of the newly independent Netherlands, as the seat of the Prince of Orange. When William was shot dead in 1584, by Balthazar Gerards in the hall of the Prinsenhof, the family's traditional burial place in Breda was still in the hands of the Spanish. Therefore, he was buried in the Delft Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), starting a tradition for the House of Orange that has continued to the present day. Delft Explosion The Delft Explosion, also known in history as the Delft Thunderclap, occurred on 12 October 1654 when a gunpowder store exploded, destroying much of the city. Over a hundred people were killed and thousands wounded. About 30 tonnes (66,138 pounds) of gunpowder were stored in barrels in a magazine in a former Clarissen convent in the Doelenkwartier district. Cornelis Soetens, the keeper of the magazine, opened the store to check a sample of the powder and a huge explosion followed. Luckily, many citizens were away, visiting a market in Schiedam or a fair in The Hague. Artist Carel Fabritius was wounded in the explosion and died of his injuries. Later on, Egbert van der Poel painted several pictures of Delft showing the devastation. The Delft Explosion is the principal reason why Delft University of Technology maintains explosion science as a key topic within its research portfolio and graduate skill-set. Sights The city center retains a large number of monumental buildings, whereas in many streets there are canals of which the borders are connected by typical bridges,Bridges in Delft altogether making this city a notable tourist destination. Historical buildings and other sights of interest include: * Oude Kerk (Old Church). Buried here: Piet Hein, Johannes Vermeer, Anthony van Leeuwenhoek. * Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), constructed between 1381 and 1496. It contains the Dutch royal family's burial vault, which between funerals is sealed with a 5000 kg cover stone. * A statue of Hugo Grotius made by Franciscus Leonardus Stracké in 1886, located on the Markt near the Nieuwe Kerk. * The Prinsenhof (Princes' Court), now a museum. * City Hall on the Markt. * The Oostpoort (Eastern gate), built around 1400. This is the only remaining gate of the old city walls. * The Gemeenlandshuis Delfland, or Huyterhuis, built in 1505, which has housed the Delfland regional water authority since 1645. * The Koninklijk Nederlands Legermuseum, the national museum of the Royal Dutch Army housed in the Armamentarium. * The Vermeer Centre in the rebuilt Guild house of St. Luke. * The historical "Waag" building (Weigh house). Culture Delft is well known for the Delft pottery ceramic products which were styled on the imported Chinese porcelain of the 17th century. The city had an early start in this area since it was a home port of the Dutch East India Company. The painter Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) was born in Delft. Vermeer used Delft streets and home interiors as the subject or background of his paintings. Several other famous painters lived and worked in Delft at that time, such as Pieter de Hoogh, Carel Fabritius, Nicolaes Maes, Gerard Houckgeest and Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet. They all were members of the Delft School. The Delft School is known for its images of domestic life, views of households, church interiors, courtyards, squares and the streets of Delft. The painters also produced pictures showing historic events, flower paintings, portraits for patrons and the court, and decorative pieces of art. Education Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is one of three universities of technology in the Netherlands. It was founded as an academy for civil engineering in 1842 by King William II. Today well over 16,000 students are enrolled. The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, providing postgraduate education for people from developing countries, draws on the strong tradition in water management and hydraulic engineering of the Delft university. Economy In the local economic field essential elements are: * education; (a.o. TU Delft Delft University of Technology) (As of 2007 14.299 students, 2.712 scientists and 1.859 researchers), * scientific research; (a.o. "TNO" ( Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research), Stichting GeoDelft, Nederlands Normalisatie-Instituut, UNESCO-IHE Institute for water education. * tourism; (about one million registered visitors a year), * industry; (DSM Gist Services BV, (Delftware) earthenware production by De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles, Exact Software Nederland BV, * retail; (Ikea ( Inter IKEA Systems B.V., owner and worldwide franchisor of the IKEA Concept, is based in Delft), Makro, Eneco Engergy NV). Nature and recreation East of Delft a relatively vast nature and recreation area called the "Delftse Hout" ("Delft Wood")Delftse Hout images on Commons is situated. Apart from a forest, through which bike-, horseride- and footpaths are leading, it also comprises a vast lake (suitable for swimming and windsurfing), narrow beaches (including a nudist area), a restaurant, community gardens, plus campground and other recreational and sports facilities. (There is a possibility to rent bikes at the station). Inside the city apart from a central park there are also several smaller town parks, like "Nieuwe Plantage", "Agnetapark", "Kalverbos" and others. Furthermore there's a Botanical Garden of the TU and an arboretum in Delftse Hout. Notable people Delft was the birthplace of among others these famous persons: Before 1900 *Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1567–1641), painter *Willem van der Vliet (c. 1584–1642), painter *Hugo Grotius (1583–1645), lawyer who laid the foundations for international law *Adriaen van de Venne (1589–1662), painter *Daniël Mijtens (c. 1590–1647/48), painter *Leonaert Bramer (1596–1674), painter *Martin van den Hove (1605–1639), astronomer and mathematician *Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet (1611 or 1612–1675), painter *Daniel Vosmaer (1622-1666), painter *Willem van Aelst (1627–1683), painter *Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), father of microbiology and developer of the microscope *Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), painter After 1900 *Vincent de Moor (1973), producer, remixer (Trance) * Nico Haak (1939-1990), singer *Stien Kaiser, former speed skater *Michaëlla Krajicek, professional tennis player *Atzo Nicolaï (1960), politician *Alexander Pechtold (1965), politician *Arantxa Rus, professional tennis player * Peter Tetteroo (1947-2002), singer and musician of Delft band Tee Set Otherwise related *Kader Abdolah, writer *Martinus Beijerinck (1851–1931), microbiologist and discoverer of viruses, lived and worked in Delft * Jody Bernal, singer *Ferrie Bodde, football player *Ken Monkou, football player *Jan Timman, chess grandmaster, was raised in Delft Miscellaneous *Nuna, (a series of manned solar powered vehicles, built by students at the Delft University of Technology, that won the World solar challenge in Australia four times in a row, in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007). *Superbus, (the Superbus project aims to develop high speed coaches capable of speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph) together with the supporting infrastructure including special highway lanes constructed separately next to the nation's highways; this project is led by Dutch astronaut professor Wubbo Ockels of the Delft University of Technology). International relations Twin towns — Sister cities Delft is twinned with:(source: Delft municipality guide 2005) Transport *Delft railway station; (currently a new central station is being constructed underground).Images of the "Spoorzone-project" *Delft Zuid railway station Trains stopping at these stations connect Delft with among others nearby cities of Rotterdam and The Hague, with a frequency of no more than every five minutes, during a big part of the day. Apart from that especcially to and from The Hague several bus lines relatively frequently realise the same connection. Nevertheless apart from that from the early morning to the late night, (until about two years ago one and since then two) tram lines frequently come and go all the way from and to The Hague via special double tracks crossing the city of Delft all the way. One of those two lines is still under construction inside Delft and is meant to connect The Hague with a not yet existing science park, to be realised on the southern (Rotterdam) side of Delft and being a coöperational project of the Delft and the Rotterdam municipality. Neighbouring municipalities See also * Delftware * Dutch Golden Age * List of films set in Delft * Tanthof Notes External links * *Municipal Website of Delft *Radio Netherlands: The day the world came to an end *National Gallery, London: A View of Delft after the Explosion of 1654 *Delft University of Technology Further reading ;Published in the 19th century * * * ;Published in the 20th century * * ;Published in the 21st century * Vermeer: A View of Delft, Anthony Bailey, Henry Holt & Company, 2001, ISBN 0-8050-6718-3 Category:Delft Category:Cities in the Netherlands Category:Settlements in South Holland